According to Women’s Audio Mission, in the US, less than 5% of music producers are female.
When I started my Music Business Diploma, there were 5 girls in the class, and they all told us that it was the most women there had ever been in a single class at SAE Institute Barcelona. The rest of the courses, (Audio Engineering, Electronic Music Production, Live Audio Produciton), had about 2 or 3 girls combined.
I wonder what the female-male ratio is in the live music industry, but I doubt that it’s any better than what I just described. I also wonder, why? Why is it that the female representation in the technical side of the music industry is so low?
It is not a secret that female representation in the music industry is significantly less compared to that of men and this is something that can and should change. This a problem that is deeply rooted in all aspects of the industry, it is no doubt a social issue, but I also believe that one of the reasons for this is the lack of resources and information.
Last year I found an article on Music Week announcing a new “roadie academy”, founded by MUSE’s Tour Manager, Glen Rowe. In this article, Rowe mentions that they were very excited to open this training program and he especially encouraged women to apply for it. The article also said that they had scholarships available. So, I applied right away.
I was fortunate enough to have been selected for the half scholarship and ever since I have been trying to find the money and make the arrangements to go to London to attend the course. A couple of months ago, I had an idea, and the idea was to launch a crowdfunding campaign so I can raise the money that I need, and in exchange I would investigate the current state of affairs for women in the world of touring.
What I want to create is a web series that will document my own journey as a woman trying to learn about and find work in the toughest part of the music industry, and I also want to connect with other women that are already working on the road as Tour Managers, Stage Managers, roadies, engineers, etc, to interview them and share their stories.
The goal is to create a hub of information for other women that might be interested in doing this for a living, but might not even know where to start. Hopefully, having more information available and seeing something like this happening, can inspire a new generation of female leaders in the music industry.
If you think this is an important issue and a project that could lead to something useful, please support it in any way you can.
My crowfunding camapaign is live now on IndieGOGO
You can also contact me via twitter @jules_ruza